U.S. patent application number 11/367496 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-06 for hard disk drawing device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Universal Scientific Industrial Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Wei-Chung Hsu.
Application Number | 20070205702 11/367496 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38470887 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070205702 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsu; Wei-Chung |
September 6, 2007 |
Hard disk drawing device
Abstract
A hard disk drawing device includes: a latch housing having a
front wall that is formed with a pair of guiding holes; a pair of
fastening plates extending rearwardly from the latch housing in a
longitudinal direction and adapted to hold a hard disk
therebetween; a pair of latches mounted movably in the latch
housing and movable along an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal
direction between locked and unlocked positions; an urging member
disposed between and abutting against the latches for urging the
latches toward the locked position; and a pair of operating levers
protruding frontwardly from the latches in the longitudinal
direction through the guiding holes in the front wall of the latch
housing for moving the latches toward each other from the locked
position to the unlocked position.
Inventors: |
Hsu; Wei-Chung; (Taipei
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SHERIDAN ROSS PC
1560 BROADWAY
SUITE 1200
DENVER
CO
80202
US
|
Assignee: |
Universal Scientific Industrial
Co., Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
38470887 |
Appl. No.: |
11/367496 |
Filed: |
March 2, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/9.1 ;
312/223.1; G9B/33.026 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 33/12 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/009.1 ;
312/223.1 |
International
Class: |
G11B 19/00 20060101
G11B019/00; A47B 81/06 20060101 A47B081/06; A47B 81/00 20060101
A47B081/00 |
Claims
1. A hard disk drawing device comprising: a latch housing having a
front wall that is formed with a pair of guiding holes; a pair of
fastening plates extending rearwardly from said latch housing in a
longitudinal direction and adapted to hold a hard disk
therebetween; a pair of latches mounted movably in said latch
housing and movable along an axis perpendicular to said
longitudinal direction between locked and unlocked positions; an
urging member disposed between and abutting against said latches
for urging said latches toward said locked position; and a pair of
operating levers protruding frontwardly from said latches in said
longitudinal direction through said guiding holes in said front
wall of said latch housing for moving said latches toward each
other from said locked position to said unlocked position.
2. The hard disk drawing device of claim 1, further comprising a
latch-mounting plate mounted in said latch housing and aligned with
said front wall of said latch housing along said longitudinal
direction, and at least a pair of screw rods extending from said
latch-mounting plate through said latches, respectively, and
engaging said front wall, each of said latches having an inner end
that is formed with a pair of confining tabs spaced apart from each
other and cooperating with said front wall and said latch-mounting
plate to define a spring-accommodating space there among, said
urging member having opposite end portions, each of which extends
into said spring-accommodating space between said confining tabs of
said inner end of a respective one of said latches.
3. The hard disk drawing device of claim 2, wherein each of said
latches is formed with at least one elongated through-hole for
extension of the respective one of said screw rods therethrough,
each of said operating levers having a thickness in a direction
parallel to said axis, each of said guiding holes having a width in
a direction parallel to said axis and greater than the thickness of
the respective one of said operating levers, said through-hole of
each of said latches having a width in a direction parallel to said
axis and greater than the diameter of the respective one of said
screw rods so as to permit movement of said latches along said
axis.
4. The hard disk drawing device of claim 1, wherein each of said
latches has an inner end that is formed with a blind hole, said
urging member having two opposite ends extending into said blind
holes in said inner ends of said latches, respectively.
5. The hard disk drawing device of claim 4, further comprising a
latch-mounting plate mounted in said latch housing and aligned with
said front wall of said latch housing along said longitudinal
direction, and at least a pair of screw rods extending from said
latch-mounting plate through said latches, respectively, and
engaging said front wall.
6. The hard disk drawing device of claim 5, wherein each of said
latches is formed with at least one elongated through-hole for
extension of the respective one of said screw rods therethrough,
each of said operating levers having a thickness in a direction
parallel to said axis, each of said guiding holes having a width in
a direction parallel to said axis and greater than the thickness of
the respective one of said operating levers, said through-hole of
each of said latches having a width in a direction parallel to said
axis and greater than the diameter of the respective one of said
screw rods so as to permit movement of said latches along said
axis.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a hard disk drawing device, more
particularly to a simple and easy-to-operate hard disk drawing
device.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, Taiwanese Publication no. 560671
disclosed a removable hard disk device including a case unit 10 and
a hard disk drawing unit 20 adapted to mount a hard disk 200 and
removably disposed in the case unit 10. The case unit 10 is secured
to a computer (not shown), and is formed with an L-shaped notch 15.
The hard disk drawing unit 20 includes a front panel 21, a pivot
element 23 pivoted to the front panel 21, and a latch plate 26. The
front panel 21 includes a button 25 movable between a first
position and a second position along a first axis. The latch plate
26 is movable in a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The
pivot element 23 is provided with a hook 231 and a pin 232.
[0005] When the button 25 is disposed at the first position, the
hook 231 is locked with the latch plate 26, and the pin 232 extends
into the L-shaped notch 15, thereby fixing the hard disk drawing
unit 20 in the case unit 10. At this state (i.e., a locked state),
the button 25 is spaced apart from the latch plate 26 by a first
distance. When pressed from the first position to the second
position, the button 25 drives the latch plate 26 to move along the
second axis to disengage the hook 231, thereby permitting pivoting
movement of the pivot element 23 and disengagement between the pin
232 and the L-shaped notch 15, thereby permitting removal of the
hard disk drawing unit 20 from the case unit 10. At this state
(i.e., an unlocked state), the button 25 is spaced apart from the
latch plate 26 by a second distance that is shorter than the first
distance.
[0006] Although the aforesaid hard disk device has the functions of
fixing and removing from the case unit 10 in the computer, the
structure thereof is relatively complex and inconvenient to
operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a simple and easy-to-operate hard disk drawing device.
[0008] According to this invention, a hard disk drawing device
comprises: a latch housing having a front wall that is formed with
a pair of guiding holes; a pair of fastening plates extending
rearwardly from the latch housing in a longitudinal direction and
adapted to hold a hard disk therebetween; a pair of latches mounted
movably in the latch housing and movable along an axis
perpendicular to the longitudinal direction between locked and
unlocked positions; an urging member disposed between and abutting
against the latches for urging the latches toward the locked
position; and a pair of operating levers protruding frontwardly
from the latches in the longitudinal direction through the guiding
holes in the front wall of the latch housing for moving the latches
toward each other from the locked position to the unlocked
position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a conventional
removable hard disk device including a hard disk drawing unit and a
case unit;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hard disk
drawing unit of the conventional removable hard disk device shown
in FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the
arrangement relationship among the first preferred embodiment of a
hard disk drawing device according to this invention, a hard disk,
and a case unit;
[0013] FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the first
preferred embodiment, in which the hard disk drawing device is
removed from the case unit;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary partly sectional view illustrating
the first preferred embodiment of the hard disk drawing device at
an unlocked state;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the first preferred
embodiment of the hard disk drawing device fixed to the case
unit;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a fragmentary partly sectional view illustrating
the first preferred embodiment of the hard disk drawing device at a
locked state;
[0017] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the second
preferred embodiment of the hard disk drawing device according to
this invention; and
[0018] FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the third
preferred embodiment of the hard disk drawing device according to
this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] Before the present invention is described in greater detail
with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should
be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same
reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
[0020] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment
of a hard disk drawing device according to the present invention is
shown to include: a latch housing 30 having a front wall 31 that is
formed with a pair of guiding holes 311; a pair of fastening plates
72 extending rearwardly from the latch housing 30 in a longitudinal
direction (X) and adapted to hold a hard disk 80 therebetween; a
pair of latches 40 mounted movably in the latch housing 30 and
movable along an axis (A) perpendicular to the longitudinal
direction (X) between locked and unlocked positions; an urging
member 50 disposed between and abutting against the latches 40 for
urging the latches 40 toward the locked position; and a pair of
operating levers 44 protruding frontwardly from the latches 40 in
the longitudinal direction (X) through the guiding holes 311 in the
front wall 31 of the latch housing 30 for moving the latches 40
toward each other from the locked position to the unlocked
position.
[0021] In this embodiment, the hard disk drawing device further
includes a latch-mounting plate 60 and two pairs of screw rods 62.
The latch-mounting plate 60 is mounted in the latch housing 30 and
is aligned with the front wall 31 of the latch housing 30 along the
longitudinal direction (X). The two pairs of the screw rods 62
extend from the latch-mounting plate 60 through the latches 40,
respectively, and engage the front wall 31. Each of the latches 40
has an outer end 46 and an inner end 41. The inner end 41 is formed
with a pair of confining tabs 43 spaced apart from each other and
cooperating with the front wall 31 and the latch-mounting plate 60
to define a spring-accommodating space there among. The urging
member 50 has opposite end portions, each of which extends into the
spring-accommodating space between the confining tabs 43 of the
inner end 44 of a respective one of the latches 40.
[0022] In this embodiment, each of the latches 40 is formed with
two elongated through-holes 45 for extension of the screw rods 62
therethrough. Each of the operating levers 44 has a thickness in a
direction parallel to the axis (A). Each of the guiding holes 311
has a width in a direction parallel to the axis (A) and greater
than the thickness of the respective one of the operating levers
44. Each of the through-holes 45 has a width in a direction
parallel to the axis (A) and greater than the diameter of the
respective one of the screw rods 62 so as to permit movement of the
latches 40 along the axis (A).
[0023] The latch housing 30 further includes two side walls 34,
each of which is formed with a through hole 341 for extension of
the respective one of the outer ends 46 of the latches 40
therethrough.
[0024] Preferably, the hard disk drawing device further includes a
connecting plate 71 for connecting the fastening plates 72 to the
latch housing 30 and for cooperating with the latch housing 30 to
define an inner space for accommodating the latches 40 and the
latch-mounting plate 60 therein.
[0025] The hard disk drawing device is intended to hold a hard disk
80, and to be inserted into a case unit 90 secured in a computer
(not shown). The case unit 90 has an outer wall 91 that defines an
inner space 94 for accommodating an assembly of the hard disk
drawing device and the hard disk 80, and that is formed with two
positioning holes 931 corresponding to the through holes 341 of the
latch housing 30. When the hard disk 80 is to be used with the
computer, the operating levers 44 are forced to move toward each
other against the urging force of the urging member 50 such that
the latches 40 are moved from the locked position to the unlocked
position along the axis (A). After inserting the assembly of the
hard disk drawing device and the hard disk 80 into the case unit 90
in the computer, the force applied to the operating levers 44 is
released, and the latches 40 are automatically restored to the
locked position by the urging action of the urging member 50. At
this position, each of the outer ends 46 of the latches 40 extends
through the respective through hole 341 in the latch housing 30 and
the respective positioning hole 931 in the outer wall 91 of the
case unit 90 (see FIG. 7), thereby fixing the assembly of the hard
disk drawing device and the hard disk 80 in the case unit 90 (see
FIG. 6). When the hard disk 80 is to be removed from the computer,
the operating levers 44 are once again forced to move toward each
other against the urging force of the urging member 50 such that
the outer ends 46 of the latches 40 are retracted from the through
holes 341 in the latch housing 30 and the positioning holes 931 in
the outer wall 91 of the case unit 90, respectively (i.e., at the
unlocked position, see FIG. 5). Thereafter, the operating levers 44
are pulled in the longitudinal direction, thereby removing the
assembly of the hard disk drawing device and the hard disk 80 from
the case unit 90 (see FIG. 4).
[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates the second preferred embodiment of the
hard disk drawing device according to this invention. The second
preferred embodiment differs from the first preferred embodiment in
the structure of the latches 40. In this preferred embodiment, each
of the latches 40 has an inner end 41 that is formed with a blind
hole 47. The two opposite ends of the urging member 50 extend into
the blind holes 47 in the inner ends 41 of the latches 40,
respectively.
[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of the
hard disk drawing device according to this invention. The third
preferred embodiment differs from the second preferred embodiment
in that the latch-mounting plate 60 and the screw rods 62 as well
as the elongated through-holes 45 are dispensed with.
[0028] Since the structure of the hard disk drawing device
according to the present invention is simpler than that of the
prior art, the manufacturing costs can be reduced. Moreover, the
operation of the hard disk drawing device of this invention is more
convenient than that of the aforesaid conventional hard disk
drawing device.
[0029] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation and equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *